Didn't skate as a child, started training for roller derby a few months back. I'm still not great but have the basics down

A friend of mine recently got some inlines, wants to learn all the aggressive stuff, so today (now I have outdoor wheels) we went to our local skate park where she was taught how to go up and down ramps by a friendly 10 year old....

Meanwhile, I was skating around, getting used to my new wheels, and getting ignored due to my 'alien' boots with wheels in the corners

Thing is, I want a go! It looks like fun! Do I need anything special to play, skate wise? Think I may need some sort of metal plate if I ever get advanced enough for the grind thing, but just for playing on the ramps, would my normal skates be OK for now?

Yes.....normal skates work fine in a skate park. I recommend that you keep it that way until you feel ready for the next stage. I used my indoor speed skate set-up in skate parks for years before I changed them (started with outdoor wheels on them).

The next stage is getting harder wheels. I started with 78 durometer outdoor wheels that were 70mm tall. After becoming more accustomed to ramps, I switched to smaller and harder speed wheels. I then progressed to even smaller and harder wheels, until I recently made the switch to skateboard wheels. Once you start doing grinds and slides, you'll need to switch to skateboard wheels.

The best skateboard wheels are rounded on both the outside of the wheel, and on the inside of the wheel. Otherwise known as Dub-cons (double conical), they tend to not catch as much on copings, rails, or ledges. They work even better in conjunction with wider trucks.

Some wide trucks can be found that are specifically for roller skates. But.......the best trucks are mid-track trucks made for skate boards, as they hold up to the abuse of skate park skating. Also, wide trucks give you better stability for jumps, airs, and just in general.
Start with what you have now, and then progress to the other stuff if you decide to stick with skating ramps and bowls. Also, IM me if you want other website sources for quad skate park skaters.

Thanks for the info - I have 62mm 78s for outdoors atm, they feel a bit wide to me, but when I replace my indoor wheels in a few months, they'll probably become outdoor wheels (they're the ones in my avi - 92s and only 28mm thick)

No chance to get to the park this week, no matter as the skate shop sold me the wrong size bearings grrr

I used to use wheels w/ cores, like the ones in your avi, too. I've found that when it comes to aggressive skating, they do not work as well as wheels without a plastic or aluminum core. Still, for basic skate park skating, they will work fine. Once you start really attacking the parks, switch them out for the type of wheels that I mentioned before.

Right now, I am using BDS Winged Skulls, like the ones below, except that mine are white.

I've been doing roller derby for a little over a year, and aggressive quad skating for 6 months. I use my derby skates with outdoor wheels, as I haven't advanced to stalling or grinding yet, and that seems to work fine. But be warned - they are torn up from all of the abuse, and I'm going to need new boots soon.

To start, you just need to attack it. Be sure you are comfortable skating backwards and on one foot at a time, first! You'll also want to be very mindful of your center of gravity, it's important that you have very good balance. Then again, all of that can be learned. I think the most important thing, for me, was not being afraid of falling. Lots of nasty bruises and huge patches of road rash later, that cannot be a deterrent.

Try skating up and some verts and turning to come back down, and then coming back down backwards. Experiment with different aspects of the street course, and eventually you'll be able to approach things backwards, get enough air to jump things and learn some "tricks".

I love skating at the skatepark, but I'm always getting looks from people haha. You'll just have to get used to that.

"I know nothing" sounds like a good thread to start at as I've been to the skatepark only about 6 times... So this is like an introduction. Hello. I've done roller derby for about two years now and always fancied the idea of going to a skateapark.

I've linked my Youtube vids here . I finally went early this year and really enjoyed it. I went two or three times and skated around the bowls (shallow, rounded, no coping or vert sections) and did little jumps from one to the other. About two weeks ago I tried a ramp (skating into a quarter pipe and doing a jump turn) and that's when I got totally hooked! Every time I've tried to get a bit higher/faster. The day before yesterday I tried dropping in the quarter pipe the first time (about 6ft?) and the first time was success and the second time I landed on my bum - I wear crash shorts and very glad about that!! It hurt! Once I learned to drop in I tried to combine it all in the half pipe - dropping in and then carrying on with jump turns. Yay, it worked!

Okay so this far I've got to... Any hints what to do next? Just practice it more? Get more air or something? I'm skating with the same boots I use for derby: Bont boot with black aluminium Avenger DA45 plate, Roll-line Formula 88 wheels (diameter 62mm, width 31mm). I've been thinking of putting together another pair of skates with grind bars but I guess that could wait as I've only been doing this for a couple of weeks! I'm so obsessed though, just want to spend all my free time on the ramps!

Another thing I'm quite proud of is that I've found the courage to go on my own - I'm so the odd one out, being female aged 30. But the kiddies have been nice and I've found out some grown ups go there too late at night...

Holy thread reserrection! This seems relevant 'cause there's a new indoor skate park in Sheffield openning on June the 4th! I'm intersted in giving it a go - am I right in thinking firm cushions and a long wheelbase is a good start?

To get myself aquanted with quad skates before starting derby practice (from being on artistic ice skates) I hit up a couple of skate parks, and after failing at using even the most basic of ramps I jsut used the smooth concrete to get used to the basics, lol

Now I'm confident on quads, it seems like a good time to give it a go. So, the tips above are useful but any additional finer points would also be appreciated!

Any hints what to do next? Just practice it more? Get more air or something?

Practice is the best teacher for sure. Also, get real comfortable going back and forth in a half pipe until you can always make it to the top. That will make dropping into a half pipe a lot easier, since you are essentially already doing that!

Learn to 'pump'. Staying crouched toward the top of the half pipe, push your feet against the transition as you go down the curved section of the ramp. It speeds you up with less effort. Do the same when going up the wall, too. Never skate in a ramp setting unless you have to do so. Pumping is always better.

I also recommend watching other skaters videos so that you can learn from watching them and get a feel for what style you might like most. And most of all...have fun!

...am I right in thinking firm cushions and a long wheelbase is a good start?

Yes. But, there are exceptions to the rule. I find that some people are more comfortable with different set-ups, so do what feels right to you. You'll find that over time you will change things, as you progress. I also recommend mid-track skateboard trucks for a wider wheelbase, but I skated for years with regular skates. The downside of regular skate trucks is that you cannot grind.

I've been skating a few small parks recently, and found that landing any decent air with any grace was my problem...

So I've been working on my landings, jumping as high as I can tucking in (from standing or rolling) and trying to consistently land smooth and balanced. Now I'm a bit more confident, I've started doing the same jumps, but with a 180. I can 360 whilst rolling, but not quite with the full tuck yet.

Since I've been doing this, I seem to stick my landings better and seem to travel slightly further in my jumps.

I would say 88 durometer is about right to start with. I'm on 78d and I'm pushing all the time to try and speed up. I did try skateboard wheels (95d), but too hard for me right now, I was sliding all over the place.

I started skating ramps about six months ago after getting back into roller derby. I love it and I also believe that it really improved my derby skating. I am more agile than before. To start, I just used my regular outdoor set up. I had an old set of Riedell Outlaws that I learned derby in and some outdoor wheels. I purchased a pair of skates recently solely dedicated to ramp skating. I am much faster and go much higher now, but that would have been really scary to start with. So whatever you are using for outdoors should be good for now. Have fun!

As for vert helping derby, I can believe that! I first went off and started doing dance, that helped, just recently got started on slalom and realized how little I know about good footwork ... the more diversity the better I recon!

Thanks for posting the RollerGirl link.
Lisa's "Aggressive Roller Skating 101" .pdf has many frame by frame stills that I feel are better than just another how-to video. It also explains park etiquette which may reduce altrications with the "woodpushers" . Definately a must read for anyone thinking of going quad vert.

"...the more diversity the better I recon" HK47
Absolutely!....and also think quad vert will help you with Derby.
__________________"If the good Lord wanted us to walk he wouldn't have invented roller skates." ~Willie Wonka 1971 60 secs of Quad Vert Fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYJgY2PJ_vk